Eric Roberts reveals who in the 'DWTS' audience supports him after a family feud

Eric Roberts told it Newsweek who supports him in his competition in the audience Dancing with the stars After a family feud, his relationship with his sister Julia Roberts fell apart.

Eric – known for films like Star 80 And Runaway train– has finally achieved what he longed for Dancing with the stars Debut after first being asked to join the show 19 years ago. Unfortunately, there was a scheduling conflict at the time and he had to cancel.

Celebrities competing for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy this year include Eric Family matters Actor Reginald VelJohnson competes with pro Emma Slater; Real Housewives of Atlanta Star Phaedra Parks Teamed Up With Val Chmerkovskiy; Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher competing with Alan Bersten; and many more.

Eric shared that his wife – casting director and actress Eliza Roberts – will be supporting him every night, but he didn't mention his famous sister or actor daughter Emma Roberts.

Newsweek emailed reps for Julia and Emma Roberts on Tuesday seeking comment.

“My wife is here every day, but I found out last night that my lawyer is in love with his show. He was in the house and said, 'Oh, I came on the show; I can't wait to come', and then I found out that he has a lot of customers on the show and is therefore a regular in the audience Dancing with the starssaid the Hollywood actor.

“So, my lawyer, his girlfriend, my wife, my stepdaughter, my grandchildren; yes, they are all there,” Roberts added.

“They all love the show, but they're all very reserved because they don't really know how to approach me about it. You didn't ask me if I was happy. They just… 'So, what's it like?' goes? Oh yes, hmm-mm.' But they didn't ask if I was happy. But I'm happy.

Tensions in the relationship between Eric Roberts and Sister Julia began in the 1990s, which Eric said was largely due to his addiction and other family problems. The feud intensified when Julia supported Emma's mother Kelly Cunningham in a bitter custody battle.

In recent years, Eric has tried to mend his relationship with Julia. In his 2024 memoir Runaway Train: Or the story of my life so farHe expressed his guilt for the damage his addiction had caused and apologized to Julia.

Whether Julia or Emma will show their support for Eric Dancing with the stars is still to be seen. When Eric was asked how he thought he would do in the dance competition, he said he didn't think he would do very well.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but I don’t expect to do well. I expect to have fun. And if good performance, you know, comes from having fun, I'll do great,” he added.

The actress dances alongside Britt Stewart, who first joined the show as an ensemble member in Season 23 and remained in the role until Season 27. In season 29, she made history as the first black professional dancer on the show. She told Newsweek that she loves Robert's mentality when it comes to competition.

“Sometimes with Dancing with the stars“You never really know (how well you’re going to do),” Stewart said.

“Sometimes you can have someone like Eric who has no dance experience, but people fall in love with him, with the way he approaches that experience, and we could go a lot further than we ever expected… I think so .” that he grows and makes progress, and that is also very important in this process.

“I love the mentality we have this season: we will be present week after week, day after day, and if we manage to go further than we expected, then that will be it.” “A nice surprise,” Stewart added.

Eric added: “I'm definitely the underdog.”

Stewart said that as the first black professional player on the show, she always feels the pressure, but in a positive way.

“My first season as a professional I put a lot of pressure on myself, a lot of pressure because I felt like I was the only one, I was the first, I was that representative, and now I’ve turned that into fuel.” “Every season I just want to continue to be that representative, but I also want my barriers to continue to open doors,” Stewart said.

Stewart is also president of the nonprofit organization Share the Movement. The goal is to increase diversity in the professional dance community by providing financial, educational and inspirational support to promising young BIPOC (Black, Indigenous (and) People of Color) dancers.

In the first episode of “Dancing With the Stars” season 33, one of the movement's scholarship recipients, sat in the audience with her mother.

“I actually met her and it was her dream to be the first black professional player Dancing with the stars and then her mom said, 'Honey, I think you might have to be second because there's already one,'” Stewart continued.

“And, you know, seeing her in the audience and for me being the reflection of how she sees herself is something that's hard for me to put into words.”

Eric added, “You're going to make me cry because it's so cool.”